


Treaty

by Carola_dl



Category: The Royals (TV 2015)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-29
Updated: 2017-10-29
Packaged: 2019-01-26 05:25:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12550100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Carola_dl/pseuds/Carola_dl
Summary: The memory of her own name in bright red letters twisted something inside her and she wasn’t sure if the sensation was good, bad or something in between - She needed to know it now because King Robert was expecting an answer soon.(or the conversation where they set the rules for their partnership)





	Treaty

**Author's Note:**

> Long live King Robert! I am one of those people who say Robert is the best thing that has happened to the show in a long time and I ship him with Willow SO HARD! For now, I understand everything he did in the finale and I will defend every one of his actions before you... but I do hope the show doesn't make the mistake of making him a killer. DON'T RUIN THIS INTERESTING AND COMPLEX CHARACTER, SHOW!
> 
> Anyway, I am really intrigued about Robert/Willow and I wish we had more scenes between these two in the third Season. I hope Liam doesn't ruin this ship for us in the next season.
> 
> Anyway, here is a small fanfic, ENJOY!

**Treaty**

Her mind was in such turmoil that she almost got lost in the palace, forgetting more than once where she was going and for what reason. Those halls had never made her feel small or out of place so she found quite ironic that it was the possibility of it becoming her home what made her feel so anxious. Although she supposed she wasn’t being completely fair to the palace – it was the anticipation of running into _one man_ what had her in such a nervous state.

Just one man, but not any man: _King_ Robert.

The memory of her own name in bright red letters twisted something inside her and she wasn’t sure if the sensation was good, bad or something in between.

“I hope you aren’t avoiding me.” A voice in her back said.

Willow took a deep breath and turned around, smiling with all the self-confidence she could muster. There was him, standing in front of the vacant space the portrait of his father had left, and dressing again in red, a color that did wonders for him. His brown eyes were so bright that they were almost green and his smile was charming and polite at the same time, even hesitant as if he really thought she would dismiss him.

“Of course not, your Majesty.” She was able to say without stammering.

“Did you see the changes I made on the list? Do you have an answer?”

“I…” Her palms were sweaty and Willow forced herself to remain calm. “I have seen it but… I don’t know if I can do it.”

Robert raised both brows, very surprised. Willow supposed he didn’t get rejected very often and, in truth, it wasn’t what she was doing.

“What I mean is that I don’t know if I can… be a queen.” She blushed when she thought what that title would entail: _kissing him, sharing a bed with him._ Of course, she was also aware of the responsibilities of the crown but, oddly, she felt less intimidated by the prospect of that challenge than the idea of sharing a life of intimacies with him. Still, she was aware of who she was, a commoner. “I don’t have noble blood. A lot of the girls in the list seemed better prepared to… such a task.”

“I see…” He said, fixating his intense stare on her. Willow wished she could read his thoughts. “…but I disagree. Especially because most of those girls are spoiled brats, that’s not what I want for a wife and that’s not the queen I want for my country. I investigated your background – I hope that doesn’t offend you - and I was pleasantly surprised with what I saw.”

“Thank you. It doesn’t offend me. I also studied the candidates of the list before handing it to you. One can never be too careful, right?” Willow said. He smiled and she couldn’t help but return the smile. “But why me?”

“I have never met someone who understands life in the palace as well as you do,” Robert answered with honesty. Willow, against her own wishes, felt strangely disappointed by his answer. She has always considered herself a very down to earth girl, she wasn’t a Madam Bovary – then, why was she so disappointed that the King of England wasn’t revealing a secret crush on her? He seemed to notice her feelings and added, “We haven’t known each other for long but, from what I could see, you’re honest, caring, discreet, intelligent and more importantly, rational. I can’t have an emotional wife that will create a scandal every time we disagree on something. And you have earned the love of my whole family, an almost impossible feat.” He said with a genuine smile.

Willow thought of Liam, and the insufficient love he had felt for her. She looked up at the king and tried to find something of Liam in his face. There were some physical similarities but their stance and their eyes were completely different. Liam was all emotion and impulsiveness, Robert had a calm and cold intelligence that should scare her but filled her with curiosity. _Could she love him?_ She asked herself and wasn’t surprised when something inside her answered: _Yes, fast and easily._

But the question was: Could Robert love her? Or would she always live behind the shadow of another woman? Would Robert set her aside if Kathryn returned to his life, as Liam had done?

Willow cleared her throat and asked, “I also noticed you scratched out one name…”

His smile vanished in a second and she immediately understood that her question was a mistake.

“Yes. Kathryn Davies. Those are personal matters…”

“…that affect me too. You have taken pictures with her in public, pictures I uploaded to your Instagram account.”

“I have an Instagram account?”

“Yes, I manage it.” She gestured with her hand, indicating that it wasn’t important. “The public will want a story. They will want to know what happened to her and why she isn’t on your arm anymore. Rumors will start and some of them will be about me. If you’re still with her but you don’t want to marry her because you don’t think she’s fit for it, then…”

“I am not with her. She’s in the past. I wouldn’t have asked you to marry me if I was still with her…”

His words hit her with so much force that she felt her legs trembling _. I wouldn’t have asked you to marry me_ , he had said, but the truth was… “You hadn’t asked me to marry you, at least not directly.”

Another raised brow, “Do you want me to get down on one knee to ask you for your hand in marriage?”

The image of King Robert on one knee, asking her to be his wife, almost broke her balance. But she knew this partnership, this odd marriage, wouldn’t work if she didn’t find the strength to confront him.

“Not right now, maybe once the moment comes.” Instead of angry, he seemed amused, which motivated her to continue talking, “But I need to know where I will be getting into if I accept your proposal. What kind of partnership will we have? What are the rules?”

“Ask away. What do you want to get from this?” Once again, his eyes were distrustful but she didn’t feel intimidated.

“I have never been romantic, I have never wished for a fairy tale romance, but I want a true partnership. I want honesty and complicity. I won’t be a pawn in your strategies and I won’t be a trophy wife without a voice.”

“Everyone says they want honesty but few can really bear it when they have it. Do you really know what you’re asking for? Do you really know the things a king has to do for his crown?”

“Yes and if you trust me enough to confide in me, I will help you and I will advise you, that’s the only kind of partnership I will accept.”

He looked at her, studying her, and maybe seeing her for the first time. Willow wondered if he would take away his proposal and decide that she was too complicated and too demanding. She didn’t know how she felt about that possibility.

“I guess that’s fair, and now that we’re being so honest, I should warn you that I’m a complicated man and… you won’t always like me.” He said the last part with vulnerability and Willow wondered who had convinced him that he was unlikable.

“I will carry your burdens if you carry mine. That, I can promise.” Willow said.

He looked at her in awe. Nobody had looked at her in such a way. It disarmed her. Why was he looking at her as if she was the first person to offer him loyalty and trust? She took a step forward as if an invisible force drew her to the king, but she stopped in her tracks before getting too close.

“In that case, I will give you the honesty you want.” He took a long breath before continuing. “Kathryn slept with my brother, more than that, they had a relationship. I gave her a lot of opportunities to confide in me but she never did. She proved that she couldn’t be trusted and I can’t marry someone I can’t trust. I am the King, I already have too many enemies, and I can’t afford my wife being one of them. I think she only wanted to be queen and when I died, she went to Liam, who was the next one in the line to the throne.”

“I already knew part of that story, but I didn’t know how it ended. I am sorry.” Robert obviously felt betrayed by both Kathryn and Liam. Willow, in her own right, felt that Liam had betrayed her too. “We can’t tell that story, though. It would be a scandal.”

“Yes. What reasons do normal people have to break up? Not scandalous reasons, I mean.”

“Incompatible personalities? Someone falls out of love? I don’t know. Break-ups are always hard.”

“People think I met her in the gala and that our relationship only lasted some days, we can say our personalities turned out to be incompatible and then I met you and fell in love with you. We will have to appear in public and look very much in love.”

“Yes. That sounds like a good solution.” Willow twisted her fingers, nervous. “I have a confession to make too. I told Liam that…”

“I know you both are friends.”

“No. I mean yes, but… I told him I liked him, but he chose Kathryn.”

“A big mistake,” Robert said.

“Did you choose me because I was his friend? Because I was on his side?”

“I chose you for all the reasons I mentioned before, but I suppose I also wanted to get revenge on my brother. Does that change your answer?”

“No, surprisingly, it doesn’t. It would’ve if you had decided instead to lie and keep it a secret. That’s what I meant. I don’t want lies of any kind. Even if you think that you’re helping me, protecting me, or that you will lose me if you tell me. I assure you, you will lose me if you aren’t honest or upfront.”

“Your sincerity is refreshing,” Robert answered. “I have to warn you, though. My brother always wants what I have and you won’t be an exception. He will fall in love with you the moment he sees you on my arm. If that’s something you want…”

“No. I wouldn’t do that to you.”

Robert looked utterly surprised, “I want you to understand that the moment I introduce you as my girlfriend, your chances with Liam are over. Even if we cancel our engagement, you will never be able to marry him. If you still have hopes…”

“I wouldn’t do that to you.” She repeated, angry. Did he think she was Kathryn? Did he think she was unable to choose one brother and stick to her decision?

“It would be good for you to remember that if he suddenly falls in love with you, it will probably be because he wants to get back at me…”

“I know! I am not that naïve!” Willow shouted at him, angry for his insinuations.

“If despite this knowledge, you still end up having some kind of romantic entanglement with him, I expect you to be careful and discreet. Your image as the queen of England has to be your first priority…”

“Stop talking, for god’s sake!” Willow shouted and she remembered too late that she was talking to the king. As expected, he looked at her with a dignified offense, but she didn’t cower down. “Are you saying that I can have a lover and you won’t care? Even if it’s your brother?”

“You’re not in love with me and…”

“But I could fall in love with you!” She said in an angry tone. She had said too much and she suddenly felt insecure, “Do you think you could fall in love with me… in the future?”

“You’re very lovable, Willow, and falling for you would be very easy, but I have seen how a royal marriage operates… and expecting faithfulness only brings heartache and disappointments.”

“So what you’re telling me is that you will have lovers and I will have to accept it and shut up.” Robert opened his mouth to deny it but Willow interrupted him. “I don’t think I can live like that.”

“Are you telling me that if we marry, you will be my wife in every sense?”

“What were you expecting?” Willow asked, surprised.

“That you would be a friend and an advisor, that you would give me an heir and then, live your life… with discretion.” Robert looked very surprised. “You said you weren’t romantic.”

“I am not, but family is sacred to me. I told you I don’t like lies. I can’t live a life of deceit.” Willow took a deep breath, she felt suddenly so stupid. She had always considered herself an intelligent woman – and here she was, thinking that the king of England would fall in love with her and that she could be enough for him. “I don’t think this is a good idea.”

She turned around, ready to flee, but Robert grabbed her arm. Willow looked at him with surprise, it was the first time he touched her.

“Do you want to be a queen?”

“Not under these conditions.”

“You were going to say yes before. Why?”

They had promised honesty to each other so Willow answered sincerely. “I like you. I think you can be a good king and I find you handsome, interesting, I like that you are serious, calm, a chess player.” She smiled as if they were sharing a joke. “I guess I thought we could be a good match.”

“If I weren’t the king and I had asked you on a date. Would you have said yes?”

“Yes.” She said without a doubt, and surprisingly, the answer seemed to leave him breathless.

“And you want to date me, even marry me, despite the sacrifices a queen has to make?”

“Yes, because we – the common people – usually talk about changing the world, but it’s difficult for us to do anything from our low position in life. However, you inspire a whole country with your example. I want to be part of that. I don’t know, maybe I want to prove that I can do something good for the world, or at least for this country. I’ve always been very idealistic.”

He stepped closer to her, closing the distance between them, and smiled. “Good answer. Would you go out with me?”

“On a date?” She asked, and he nodded.

“Yes, on a date. Just you and me, no one else. No lies. A real date, as if we were two commoners without big responsibilities… and then, we will see where it takes us. Do you want to?” Robert asked, looking confident and insecure at the same time.

“I do.”

 

 

 


End file.
